TES V: Skyrim: Drakolves
by Dragonex12
Summary: 4E 225 Around 23 years after the dragon crisis and the civil war. The Stormcloaks were crushed by the empire by the the time the Dragonborn joined them and peace was restored. 2 decades later an ancient threat the Dwemer sealed long ago was released by a group of historians in a Dwemer ruin and the danger has never been bigger. (lots of OC's)
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_**Chapter 1: Prologue**_

_**Karodell**_

He felt the wind whip him as he fell through the air. Time seemed to slow down as he fell he could see the world around him watching in horror and confusion. The clouds got farther and farther as the birds did the same as he fell. Apparently the saying your life flashes before your eyes is true because he saw it all come and go in what was a matter of seconds but felt like an eternity for the sole person viewing it. When he began to see the roofs and the walls of buildings he knew it would be over soon. This shitty life he lived in Tamriel coming to close. Not that it was out of the ordinary in any way people died all the time in Tamriel. He was probably the first to fall from the sky though down to Riften. It was quite fascinating how slow everything was buildings inched by gave him a lot of time to think and reflect. He thought of how much he hated Riften, wondering why he ever bothered to come here or help the city maybe he felt obligated to help people in the Dragonborn's retirement. He never got anything good from Riften, just pain, and suffering, and loss. He doubted he would live from this ordeal but if he did he swore to make sure never to come back here. A promise he probably wouldn't keep. He snapped out his thoughts when his back smashed into the railing near the water way breaking it and sending him tumbling down to the icy winter Riften water below. As he hit the surface of the water his body felt like it was shattering all over from the force of the fall. He was vision was dark and blurry from the immense pain he was in. The last thing he saw was something looking at him from the edge of the water as everything went black.

_**Three Weeks Earlier **_

He tried to hold his breath to steady his aim. He was out getting dinner and this Elk looked very fine. Hidden in a bush not daring to move to not scare of his play he had been tracking this Elk for half an hour now and his arm was incredibly sore. He let the arrow loose and within a second sound of piercing flesh was made and the Elk dropped to the ground. He cheered with glee and praised himself for his excellent shot as he ran down to harvest his kill. He drew his steel dagger and began to skin the animal only taking a small amount of its hide as he did not need it and was just going to sell when he got back to Whiterun. After he was done he began to harvest the delicacies and put them in a large blood stained cloth sack he always used for hunting. When he was full up on meat, he buried his kill as not to let it go to waste in his mind any way. He put his bow back on his back and started his routine trek back to Whiterun. Maybe it was because it was in the middle point of Skyrim, or it being a trading hub, or maybe just the feel of the city, but Karodell found himself returning there very often. There was always so much going on, so much to do. He felt like he knew the city like the back of his hand inside and out. Engulfed in his thoughts he walked straight into a rather large Imperial soldier stumbled backwards and fell straight on his ass. The soldier turned to look at the wood elf, and stared at him expecting him to say something to him. Karodell normally was not intimidated by imperials but he was different, maybe because he was huge or just not being able to see his face under the masked helmet, which imperials never wore, or maybe it was the huge orcish great sword on his back that could surely cleave in two without much effort. Then the soldier did something Karodell didn't expect, he laughed and cheered and said his name.

"Karodell!" He cheered "Oh man it's been so long" The imperial said with a laugh.

However he stopped when Karodell was completely silent just staring at him.

"It's me Verne…. Seriously you don't remember me at all… that's kind of upsetting."

Then it clicked in the imperials head that he was wearing his masked helmet. He quickly removed it and put it in his satchel, revealing his shaved head and surprisingly thick beard.

"Do you remember me at all now? Come on think real hard." The imperial waved his hands around his head as some sort of odd hand gesture.

After a few seconds it Karodell eventually remembered who he was.

"Holy shit Verne it has been like what ten years ?" The wood elf exclaimed, happy to see his old friend.

"Yeah, somewhere around that, man you have really grown up you know."

"Ten years can really change someone, so where have you been did you leave Skyrim or something?" The wood elf questioned wanting to know where his friend had been all these years.

"Well after the civil war came to an end, they needed me back in Cyrodiil for Imperial business. Then during a fight with some mutant cult, a bunch of freak shows trying to ascend to euphoria, whatever realm that is, I was wounded rather badly and was out of commission for a few years and just came back to Skyrim"

"Sound like fun" the wood elf said with an obvious air of sarcasm "So are you heading to Whiterun by any chance?" He added.

"Actually I am that's where I'm stationed, Im just finishing a patrol around the city edges."

"Man that's awesome I live in the city how long have you been stationed there?" The wood elf questioned with glee.

"Only a day or two but I'll be here for a while so this is great! It will be just like old times getting drunk and fighting in the tavern." The Imperial said with a hearty laugh.

"Well alright then let's get going don't want the nords to drink all the mead" "gotta share with the other people of Tamriel to you drunks." He said under his breath.

They entered the gate of the city and walked inside.

_A/N In the off chance that someone is reading this story(and the note) I want to thank you for reading all the way through and not saying 'this guy sucks im out'. If you would like to leave a review and tell me what I sucked at and if I did anything good that too would be really helpful. Thanks if you read all the way through._


	2. Chapter 2 Things in the Dark

_**Chapter 2 things in the dark**_

_**Livan**_

The torch sparked to life, lighting up the dark Dwemer ruins with the flame. Livan always was interested in the Dwemer; they were far more advanced than they should have been which Livan thought was fascinating. He and two other Dwemer researchers who he had gotten to know well over their expedition, one was an Imperial named Simon, and the other was a Dunmer named Shalik who was very kind compared to his other Dunmer brethren. Livan berated himself for stereotyping a Dunmer when he himself knew how it felt to be stereotyped, and the Nords were the worst most were not as bitter with Ulfric gone but some still hated non-Nords. The Nords always said that elves weren't capable of feeling and things of that nature. He snapped out of his thoughts when Shalik called his name a few times.

"Livan try to focus we pay these men a lot per day for protection so don't waste the day." He said it kindly as he usually said things. It could be something incredibly mean with but everything he said sounded polite.

"Yeah… yeah you're right let's get to work then men" Livan shouted so everybody could hear his order.

So they did just that, looking for artifacts to examine, and then examining those artifacts writing down what they learned in dozens of journals for study later. This was daily for the three researchers, making their wrists hurt quite a lot sometimes.

"Rock Joint will come tomorrow by this rate" Simon joked while writing about an artifact. The others chuckled a bit too and got back to work.

Several hours had passed when they found the door. Livan tripped on a small pipe on the ground he hadn't noticed and slammed it the wall causing it the shake a bit. He got up after a second, and, after dusting himself off, felt for the signs of a hidden door. It was definitely a door, that much he was sure of, how he would open said door puzzled him. He looked around for a switch of sorts and there was no noticeable switch so he felt all the Dwemer architecture all over the area of the door and then eventually he heard a soft click of a switch activating. He didn't know how he did it but he did it and felt proud.

"Shalik, Simon, Mercenaries, Get down here I found something you might want to see!" Livan shouted at the top of his lungs hoping the others would hear him.

The sound of footsteps was a sign they did hear him. And as they entered the chamber they all just stared in awe as the entire wall slide apart revealing a rather huge Dwemer door. It looked like a Nordic door you would see in the ruins just a thousand times more complex, so instead of just three rings it has around fifteen with no symbols no help just slots to turn. Whatever was on the other side the Dwemer obviously didn't want anybody or anything getting in or out. When something is sealed in a Dwemer ruin you probably should just leave it be but these researchers were curious, so they were going to open it one way or another.

After two long days of trying to solve the Dwemer puzzle they finally got the door open, and inside was darkness, just pure black they lit a torch and threw it in the room, but nothing lit up. It was almost as if a dark presence was eating the light. But they found light was capable of emanating from the room when two big piercing yellow eyes appeared. The mercenaries stepped in front of the researchers drawing their swords and shields' readying themselves for whatever was in the room. However it dashed out and ripped out the throat of two of the mercenaries and quickly ripped through the gut of the other two, while the researchers ran out of the hall hoping to make it out of the cursed ruin alive, with Livan in the lead, and it caught up with them in seconds slicing Shalik in two, moving on to Simon afterwards removing his head from his body. Livan was running up the stairs trying to ignore their short but loud shrieks when it tripped him causing him to bust his head on the stairs, leaving a trail of blood as he was dragged away screaming the entire way.

_A/N So there's chapter two for those of you reading I was going to sleep but I had the idea in my mind and I didn't want to sleep and forget what the chapter was about. So that's a taste of what __**it**__ is capable of, what exactly __**it**__ is yet to be known. And thanks for reviewing SkyrimProtecter its amazing someone already read my story and I hope you enjoyed this short chapter_


	3. Chapter 3 The Bannered Mare

_A/N- If you readers didn't know I upload a new chapter really late last night so read that before you read this. Also sorry for improper grammar and things of that likeness, I'm still getting the knowhow's of writing. So I'll try to proofread some more and fix the mistakes I make_

_ENJOY… or don't… it's really up to you._

_**Chapter 3 The Bannered Mare **_

_**Karodell**_

After selling his spare hides at The Drunken Huntsman, a shop he visited often, as he hunted often. He said his goodbye's to Elrindir who showed signs of age, having run the shop for so long. He told him he was thinking of retiring soon. He didn't know how much longer he wanted to do this, dealing with dumb customers, and even dumber thieves. He walked up the street trying to block out all of Nazeems crap about being all high and mighty when he was worth less than the homeless in Whiterun. So he quickened his pace and he heard the laugh of merry Men as he opened the doors to The Bannered Mare. Closing the door behind him as the smell of fine mead and fresh food filled his nostrils, he looked around for Verne. Verne waved him over tapping the barstool next him indicating for him to sit. So Karodell did just that and within a second or two Saadia was already by his side.

"What would you like sir, we have food for the hungry drink for the thirsty" the Redguard woman said with a nervous tone, like she was afraid of something.

"Just some bread and water if you will be so kind" Karodell replied waving the suspicious thought out of his mind.

"Right away sir" the red guard said with a nod and quickly turned and walked away to fill his order.

"So tell me anything major happen in the past ten years, save any lives, meet any fine women?" Verne questioned with a chuckle.

"Nothing really big enough to note, had a lady for a while but things didn't work out." He said with a taste of sorrow in his voice.

Verne must have sensed he didn't want to talk about it, since he changed the subject rather quickly.

"Well is the Dragonborn still alive and kicking?" Verne questioned.

"Alive, yes, but kicking, no, he went into a sort of retirement after his three year trip to Solsthiem went to complete shit he said 'I'm done doing this crap' and went to live in the woods with Serana." "Plus almost being killed on your 58th birthday might make someone want to settle down" The Wood Elf quickly added after he originally stopped talking.

Saadia brought his water and bread to which Karodell gave thanks for her service and turned back to Verne after taking a sip of his drink.

"How old is he now exactly" Verne asked

"About sixty four if I remember correctly, I'm heading over there for dinner with them tonight, I can tell him you said hello if you would like me to."

"Why shouldn't I just come instead?" Verne asked the bosmer as he took another sip of his mead.

The Bosmer frowned at this proposal "I can't just bring someone along with me the Dragonborn wouldn't recognize, so sorry but I can't do that."

Verne frowned and opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when a bottle flew past his head, just missing him.

"Stay still you Imperial bastard" a Nord drunkenly shouted as he reached for another bottle and chucked it towards Verne. Verne sidestepped out of the way as the bottle flew past him smashing into an unfortunate patron interrupting the bottles path.

Karodell knew the Nord was Harik, a drunk who visited the tavern way too often. He had been arrested for public indecency, Public intoxication, and so much else, he probably knew the Dragonsreach dungeon well. Karodell never liked him and Verne's opinion of him had now just lowered quite significantly.

"You little shit, I'm going to get over there and beat your scrawny ass." Harik shouted and drunkenly stumbled and slurred.

Karodell wondered just how drunk he was if he thought Verne was scrawny, because Verne was anything but scrawny, he was huge and he would be terrifying to fight. However Harik came forward and swung at Verne, who backed up, causing Harik to miss, wildly stumbling to keep his balance. Verne however would not allow that luxury, and instead swung his fist upward causing Harik to leave the ground a bit, crashing down onto a table. Despite his drunken state he got back up rather quickly but Verned punched him again within a matter of seconds causing Harik to kneel over in pain. Verne however proved relentless grabbed a bar stool and proceeded to smash Harik over the head with it, effectively knocking him out. Karodell was pretty sure he heard a crack. Verne was about to hit him again, realizing the entire tavern was watching him in fear. Karodell was astonished at how fast he went from a cheery Nord into a brutal war machine.

"Sorry about that" he gave a small pouch of gold to Ysolda the innkeeper "For the mess I just made" he explained. He then walked out of the Inn, and into the streets. Karodell hurried after him a few minutes later, seeing him sitting on a bench staring at the blue sky. Karodell sat down next to him, hoping to get some explanation of the beat down that just occurred.

"I haven't lost my temper in a while, not like that." Verne said with a hint of regret in his voice, probably from beating Harik senseless.

"It's okay Verne, Harik is a drunk, it wasn't the first time he got beat senseless and it won't be the last" Karodell said trying to console his friend. "Well sorry to leave now but I must get going to see the Dragonborn, ill tell him you said hello." And with that he left Whiterun and made his way to the Dragonborn's home.

_A/N – So there is chapter three for those of you reading. I enjoyed writing this small terribly short fight, and it makes me eager for future combat. I feel Verne will have a lot of violence in his future but only time will tell. So for those who read I hope you enjoyed my newbie story and writing skills, and I hope to see you in the next chapter._


	4. Chapter 4 Dinner Party

_**Chapter 4 Dinner Party**_

_**Dunastyr**_

Dunastyr awoke with a jump, sweat dripping from his forehead. He had nightmares frequently but never remembered most. After calming down a bit, he noticed Serana was absent from his side, unlike she usually was. She usually woke an hour after Dunastyr, never before him. _She must be making breakfast, _Dunastyr thought as he pulled the covers off him slowly rising out of his bed, stretching with a yawn, looking around the room. His favorite sword, forged from ebony, lay on a podium next to a mannequin, clad in his Blackguard armor he picked up in Solsthiem. _Light but protective, well suited for a Dragonborn, _the Dragonborn thought a small frown appearing on his face, as he remembered all his troubles he had gone through. Not wanting to mope all day, as he had done on several occasions, much to Serana's dismay, he quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, walking down the wooden steps, and turning the corner to the dining area. Serana was already waiting, smiling as she turned to see him.

"Hey beautiful" Dunastyr said with his unnatural charisma, his silver tongue he has had since his teen years. "How are you doing this fine day?"

"Not too bad myself, just making some Skyrim quality breakfast" she said just before giving her love a quick kiss on the cheek, reaching behind him to open the cabinet he was blocking, and taking what she needed from inside.

"You know Serana, you could have just asked me to move." The Dragonborn commented.

"Now what's romantic about that?" she asked as she continued cooking.

"Well, I suppose your right." Dunastyr replied, taking a whiff of the food, it looked good, and it smelled even better.

"I know I'm right, I always am." She replied. "Now go back up to the room and get some proper clothes on, if you would be so kind."

Dunastyr had barely noticed he was in his undergarments, and nodded before heading upstairs.

"And wake the boy up while you're at it" she added as he headed upstairs.

He quickly changed into his everyday outfit with some light chainmail underneath, hoping it would not ever see use. He had to take precautions as, for some reason, even after everything he had done for the province, people still wanted his head on a spike. After leaving his room for the second time, he went down the short hall and opened the door slowly. Inside lay his son, Rodyn, sound asleep with Brann, the family dog, by his side. Brann awoke to the sound of the door opening and jumped up to greet him, waking Rodyn in the process.

"Hey boy how are you doing?" he said, petting the dog. "Hey son, sleep well?" Dunastyr added, noticing his sons awakening.

"Yeah, I did" Rodyn replied to his father in a groggy tone, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair, which neither Dunastyr, nor Serana had, which made him wonder where it came from. His son gave a great hug, to which he returned with pleasure.

"Come on let's get down stairs, your mother is waiting on us." Dunastyr said breaking off the hug, and leading the way out the door, with Rodyn and Brann right behind. Serana was setting the table as they came down, and turned to greet Rodyn as he entered the area.

"Hey there Rodyn" she said giving him a hug, before adding, "go and sit at the table I'll be right in with breakfast." She said to both the boys. As they sat down Dunastyr spoke, "So you up for some sword training again today, son?"

"Could you explain to me why I have to do this" Rodyn answered.

"Well, you won't live long if you can't defend yourself. I hope you never have to fight for life but you need to know how if you want to live past 30." Dunastyr explained rather bluntly.

"Let's hush that talk and eat" Serana said as she sat too. And so they ate, with some talking about family things and what not.

"Oh by the way I invited Karodell over for dinner tonight, he is bringing venison." Dunastyr mentioned, breaking the vocal silence.

"Oh that will be great to see him again. It's been what a half a year?" Serana questioned.

"Yeah Karodell is coming!" Rodyn exclaimed. He always idolized Karodell, and liked him very much.

"Maybe he could teach you a few things with a bow, Rodyn" Dunastyr suggested, knowing full well that Karodell was an excellent shot, and hadn't seen many people to match his skill with the bow.

"Oh that would be awesome dad" Rodyn cheered with glee.

_**Several Hours Later**_

Dusk was approaching when Dunastyr heard a knock on the door. He looked through the peep hole and saw his wood elf friend patiently waiting outside. He quickly opened the door gave him a friendly hug.

"Hey Dunastyr, how have you been man?" Karodell said slightly startled by the unexpected hug, but returning it nonetheless, breaking off in a few seconds.

"Besides the wrinkles on my face, and my boy growing up too fast, pretty good." He said with a slight chuckle, then returning the same question.

"I haven't been too bad myself, thanks for asking" he paused for a second, before adding "where's Serana and Rodyn?"

"Oh, they are out back, Rodyn is helping Serana with her garden. Come on lets go"

They made their way to the back door opened it and stepped outside. Serana and Rodyn's eyes lit up when they saw Karodell walk through the door with Dunastyr.  
>"Karodell!" Rodyn exclaimed and dropped what he was doing and ran up and gave Karodell a hug.<p>

"Hey Rodyn, man you have gotten big hitting a growth spurt every month nowadays huh?" the Wood elf said with a light chuckle, breaking off the hug and turning to Serana, giving her a hug as well.

"How have you been Karodell, dear?" Serana asked returning the hug.

"I haven't been too bad as of late." Karodell responded.

"We'll talk more and catch up over dinner okay" Serana said too everybody and made Rodyn continue to help garden, much to the child's dismay.

"Want to do a little sparing too pass the time, while dinner cooks?" The Dragonborn questioned.

"Are you sure you can still swing a sword old man?" Karodell said in a joking tone.

The Dragonborn chuckled a bit "Even in my ripe old age of 60 I can still kick your ass in a duel" Dunastyr replied.

"Let's put that to the test." Karodell replied walking over to grab to wooden swords, tossing one to Dunastyr, who caught it with grace. Twirling the sword in his hand, He entered his favorite battle stance, and began the duel.

They dueled 4 times, the Dragonborn winning three of those four, only loosing on the fourth because he grew tired. They sat at the outdoor table while Serana brought the food from inside. All of a sudden the whistle of an arrow flying and crash of shattering plate soon followed, as Serana was hit in the stomach with a steel arrow and fell to the ground. 

_**Karodell**_

It happened in an instant, too fast for Karodell to comprehend what was happening. The Dragonborn looked horrified as he ran over to Serana, who was now lying in a pool of blood to make sure she wasn't dead. Karodell drew his bow, notched an arrow and scanned the trees with lightning speed. He finally found the assailant and let the arrow loose. The familiar whistle filled his ears as the arrown stuck into the archers head killing him instantly. He was going to run over to Dunastyr to help tend to Serana, but was interrupted when a huge man ran straight into him with the force of an angry bear lifting him off his feet, flipping him upwards into the air. Karodell saw a glimpse of another man approach Dunastyr, but nothing more when he hit the ground face first and he tumbled down a nearby hill. His head was in immense pain, as were his ribs, which he was sure were broken by now. He mustered all his strength to get up and look for his bow, which he did not see, but what he did see was a large fist coming his way with powerful force, knocking him down to the ground once more. His vision was starting to blur, and Karodell wasn't sure how much more of this walking bears punishment he could take. He struggled to get up to his feet, but didn't even come close when an iron foot kicked him in the side cause a large crack to emanate from his ribs, and making his scream in pain. He was suddenly turned over and an enormous weight was on top of him punching him repeatedly. The pain all over was almost too much to bear and Karodell's vision started to darken and blur more and more with each punch. He was pretty sure he had not been in more pain than now in his life time, and he had dealt with a lot of pain. Everything was numb and Karodell was starting to blackout when it stopped and he felt a warm liquid spray over his face and a loud thump next to him, he opened his eyes to a dagger protruding through the neck of the assailant and the Dragonborn running back up hill. After a minute he regained his full awareness and got up and went uphill to get his bow, gritting his teeth through the immense pain that was coursing through his body. He looked at the bloody mess just produced as he continued up the hill. When he reached the top he saw a lone assailant holding Rodyn captive with a dagger to his neck, facing the Dragonborn. He couldn't hear what they were saying over the ringing in his ears. He looked for his bow and found it on the ground next to him. He picked it and stumbled a bit with notching the arrow, but got it after a few seconds. He aimed at the assailant when he realized the immense danger of hitting Rodyn. He could die if he fired or not, so he called upon his best judgment and prayed that he wouldn't miss and kill the child. And he let the arrow loose, and Karodell could not believe what happened when both bodies crumpled over to the ground. He dropped his bow and ran over to Rodyn with Dunastyr. _He can't be dead, he can't be dead, please don't be dead, I can't kill my best friend's son. Please by the gods don't let him be dead. _Was all that ran through his mind as he sprinted over there. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the arrow only grazed him and he was okay. The arrow was instead lodged in the assailant's skull.

"Is Serana okay?" Karodell asked in a panicked manner as they ran over to her.

"I used a healing spell to keep her stable but I need to get to the healer in Riverwood. Find out who these bastards are, why they tried to kill us, and clean up the mess. I will meet you at the sleeping giant inn." The Dragonborn replied putting his wife and child on the back of his steed before speeding off to Riverwood. Karodell went and washed the blood off his face in the wash basin inside. Looking at his reflection he could tell the Orc who beat him down broke his nose and bruised his face all over. He felt like all his ribs were shattered into a million pieces, and the pain was almost unbearable. He pushed through however, and looked through the body of the archer, but found nothing of importance. The one holding Rodyn captive also had nothing on him, or the Orc down the hill. That left the one who tried to attack the Dragonborn before Karodell was beat down by the orc. He searched him and found a letter,

_You are to kill the Dragonborn and his entire family along with whomever else may be there. Leave no survivors. When they are all dead put all the bodies in his cabin and burn it down to make it look like an accident. The Dragonborn is a worthy opponent even in his old age so take him out first if you can. When the job is done report to the Frostfruit inn in Rorikstead to receive your pay. Burn this letter when you get there, do not leave nay evidence behind. Don't fail me Verne_

_ -M_

Karodell could not believe what he just read, it had to be a mistake. Verne could not have done this, there was no way. He has known Verne for a long time, he would never do this. There was only one way to check, and Karodell prayed it wasn't true, as he pulled the helmet off, He still could not believe that Verne lay unconscious in front of him.

_A/N- So that was a long chapter and particularly violent near the end there. It was great to write a fight scene on a larger scale then Verne's bar fight in the previous chapter. This also came out longer than I expected it would with a hefty (for me) 2k+ words. I want to keep a minimum of 1k+ per chapter to make sure some content is there but if I can keep this up that would be great. Hope you enjoyed reading Karodell's beat down as much as I enjoyed writing it. _


	5. Chapter 5: Death and All His Friends

_**Chapter 5: Death and All His Friends**_

_**Dunastyr**_

Dunastyr awaited Karodell's arrival but he didn't show. _Three days is a bit too long. I would go check on him but- _He snapped out of his thoughts when the healer tapped him on the shoulder. He had a grim face and the Dragonborn instantly knew he wasn't going to like this at all.

"I'm afraid I have some good news and some bad news, which do you wish to hear first?" The healer questioned in a somber voice.

"The good news please?" The Dragonborn knew what was coming but he didn't want to know in any way.

"The boy is fine he only sustained minor injuries. The girl however…" he trailed off not wanting to speak.

_No, she isn't dead I cant lose her. Not here, not now. _The dragonborns eyes were starting to water.

"The girl did not make it, unfortunately. The arrow pierced several organs. No healer in Skyrim could have saved her. I am sorry truly I am." He turned and walked away.

The Dragonborn was in shock. He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face, yet he did not sob, nor even move. He just stood there as the tears rolled down his cheeks. It had been so long since he cried it was almost foreign to him. He sat down in the chair he had sat in the whole time, staring blankly at the wall. The Dragonborn had dealt with loss his whole life but it never struck him this hard. He sat there for at least an hour, silently crying. The healer came back eventually, with the same look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak but the dragon shot him a look that would never let a child sleep again. He walked out the door slamming rather harshly. He headed straight for the inn.

_**Karodell**_

He did not dare leave the house with Verne inside. If he escaped the Dragonborn would kill him. So he stayed watching the gagged, tied up man struggle for three days. A courier came by looking to deliver something to Dunastyr, and sent a note to him. Verne shot him a look of _let me explain_ but Karodell never did anything but watch. He would eat occasionally but he never gave anything to Verne. In Karodell's mind Verne did not deserve food, water, or sleep. If he had stay awake so would Verne. He was tired of the muffled screams and curses so he eventually un-gagged him.

"Finally you have come to your senses" Verne said with hatred in his voice. "I-"He started to speak but Karodell kicked him in the gut.

"You don't get to speak unless I tell you too, do you understand?" Karodell was fuming and Verne could see that so he shut up. He heard a door slam upstairs and he knew the Dragonborn was back. When he came downstairs he had a few cuts and bruises on his face that looked recent. He looked at Karodell and then at Verne.

"Is this him?"

"Yeah it's him"

The Dragonborn quickly drew his blade and sunk it into Verne's neck, killing him in seconds. Karodell looked at the Dragonborn, he had a look in his eyes Karodell had never seen before.

"What was that for, we could have used him to lead us to their base or something" Karodell exclaimed almost shouting at Dunastyr. He was about to continue when Dunastyr interrupted him.

"Serana is dead, that's why I killed him. Come on lets head to river wood, we have to prepare for her funeral." Dunastyr walked up the stairs and out of the basement, with Karodell right behind, leaving Verne to rot in the basement.

They road into town heading towards the healer's house. Karodell rode into the stable and hitched his horse, and headed with Dunastyr into the healers building. Walking through the door, the sight of Serana made the Dragonborn stop in his tracks. The healer noticed them after a few seconds.

"Ah yes Dunastyr the boy has awoken. He would very much like to see you." The healer said gesturing towards the room where Rodyn was. Rodyn arose as Dunastyr and Karodell walked in, the dragon born knelt by his bed.

"Hey son, are you ok?" The Dragonborn said with a distressed voice.

"Yeah my head hurts a bit but I think im fine, where is mom?"  
>"Oh uh, she isn't around anymore.." the Dragonborn said sadness overwhelming his voice.<p>

"You mean she is…" Rodyn trailed off. The Dragonborn simply nodded and stood up.

"Get some rest son" with that he and Karodell walked out of the room.  
>"We will return her to your property for burial by tomorrow." The healer said as they stepped back to the main room. "Until then I recommend getting some rest and changing your clothes. They are stained with blood."<p>

Karodell and Dunastyr walked towards the tavern, The Sleeping Giant Inn. As they stepped in and took a seat at an empty table, a barmaid came over and asked for their order.

"I would some Nord mead please" Karodell requested and the barmaid walked to the back room. A few minutes after their drinks came, a group of of Iron clad men walked in sat at a table on the opposite side of the tavern. Dunastyr looked around and noticed that they had the same armor and markings as several other tables. The troubled look on karodells face told Dunastyr he noticed the same thing.

"I don't think this a coincidence Dunastyr" Karodell whispered across the table. Dunastyr nodded in agreement and took a sip of his mead. He kept a watchful eye on all of the men. It was not long before the all kept looking over at the Dragonborn and his companion. One of them whistled a short three note tune and everybody started to draw their weapons. By the time the swords left their hilt Dunastyr had already unleashed a shout knocking five men through the bar wall.

Karodell knocked an arrow on his bow and let it fly at a man on the far side of the tavern. He did the same for two more until his bow was knocked from his hands. In response Karodell unsheathed his short sword and stuck it in the throat of the nearest unknown attacker. Dodging the blood spray, he pulled his blade out and slashed it across another attacker face. Looking over at Dunastyr he was taking on three alone. He rushed over to help him, but was suddenly tripped to the floor he flipped over and rolled out of the way as a blade landed next to him and stuck in the ground. Karodell quickly hopped up and slit the throat of his attacker.

Dunastyr stabbed one attacker through the chest, decapitated the next and ripped out the jugular of the last. He ran over and tackled the last man through the wall into the outside and kicked him the face repeatedly, completely destroying his face. Back inside the bartender hopped over the bar and tried to attack Karodell. Karodell countered his action with little effort and slammed his face into the bar. He reached over grabbed the biggest bottle he could get and smashed it over the bartenders head. He took a second to catch his breath and looked around at the mess they had just made.

_Sixteen to two and we lived. Hopefully this will send a message to whoever keeps trying to kill us. _He went out to join the Dragonborn outside. He was standing over a mutilated corpse, breathing heavily, a pool of blood at his feet.

"Are you okay?" Karodell asked the Dragonborn.

"Yeah… I'm fine. Look we have got to find these people and stop them from trying and failing to kill us. Hopefully this will them a message. Come one let's get cleaned up."

_A/N- Woohoo more fight scenes! These are really fun to write even if they probably suck. I took me a while to figure out what to do for the second half of the chapter so I just thought 'hey lets add more violence'. Hope you enjoyed._


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